Two Western tour companies have entered North Korea for the first time since before the pandemic, potentially paving the way for non-Russian tourists to return to the isolated country after several years of “false starts.”

Representatives from Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours (YPT) crossed over the Chinese border to the Rason Special Economic Zone on Thursday as part of preparatory efforts to resume full-fledged tours to the DPRK in the near future.

“After waiting over 5 years since the closure of the North Korean borders to tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic back in Jan. 2020, we’re happy to